


Fallen

by Fratchet41



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, In which Steve has no idea what he is doing, Loki Does What He Wants, M/M, and quite frankly, niether does loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-21 18:35:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/903515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fratchet41/pseuds/Fratchet41
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Loki is unimpressed with Odin's creativity, and Steve still has no idea what is going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I wrote something! Please have fun. I have no idea what I'm doing.

Steve thought he'd be happier once the whole aliens taking over the Earth problem was resolved. He had helped with the rebuild and cleanup of the city for as long as possible, and actively avoided the fact that he had no idea what a VCR was. Once the city was on its way to full restoration Steve realized he would soon have time to catch a baseball game or maybe frequent the bars with his new found friends and colleagues. He was somewhat glad that he'd get time off, and possibly be able to relax before the next global crisis.  
Steve was horribly wrong about that.   
Once Fury finally relived to the WWII vet from his duties (Not before promising to call back next time he was needed.) Steve was given enough time to realize that he was completely and hopelessly lost. Sure, a lot of the streetnames were the same and landmarks remained, but now everything was so unnecessarily oversized and impersonal. Nobody put milk out in the morning and there was no time for casual greetings as you walked by. Steve had accidentally started a conversation with a woman who was speaking to a device attached to her ear. Steve figured it was something like a small telephone. The woman had eyed him suspiciously and brushed his apology off with a hair swirl. She then crossed the street briskly, leaving Steve to stand in his own mortification.   
Even the baseball was different. All of the players looked like juiced up replicas of himself, rather than the skinny, more lifelike men of his day. He learned the hard way that his team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, had moved to LA once while he was frozen. He took the news hard and consoled himself in purchasing Dodgers paraphernalia, and ignored the LA printed on the t-shirts.  
The subway was crammed as he boarded the train. He made a face once he realized that he had to to stand, and had to press uncomfortably close to a small redhead. The girl looked to be seventeen, youthful freckles peppered her face. He caught her staring more than once and she giggled. Steve could only look away shyly.   
"Um, excuse me?" a voice sounded to his left, where he found a small, skinny boy with glasses gaping up at him.   
"Oh my god." The twelve years old almost gasped, and Steve was legitimately concerned. "Hey, Jim! It's him. It's really him!" A dark-haired boy drew near and looked slightly less excited. He was taller and better built than his spastic friend, and carried himself with more confidence.   
"Sorry sir, but my friend here's a huge Captain America fan." The boy explained, and Steve recognized a familiar relationship between the two boys.   
"Oh, well, thanks. . . I guess."  
"I can't believe it's him! On the subway! He should be flying a jet or something!" The soldier chuckled at the thought of him even driving a modern car, let alone any newfangled jet that SHIELD had up their sleeve.   
"Can I, um, can I just get your autograph?" The kid held out a notepad and a black marker, and Steve was taken aback. He wasn't any famous singer or athlete, he was just some skinny kid from Brooklyn who couldn't say no. He took the pen and realized that he didn't know whether to write Steve Rogers or Captain America. He panicked for a moment and scribbled a star in the middle of the page, which he quickly turned into an A followed quickly by a merica and then a Captain added to the top. He saw that his stop was coming up and scribbled a doodle of himself giving the cliché salute, not wanting to disappoint his "fans." He said his goodbyes and handed the paper back, not looking for a reaction as he hurried off the train. He caught the flicker of green eyes on a giggling redhead before stepping into the subway.   
He had found a small apartment in Brooklyn rather than use Stark towers as a living place, more because or nostalgic regret than anything else. His greasy landlord had told him the building had "history" but more specifically, it was a pre-WWII building less than three blocks away from his childhood home. The flat was small but open, bordering on loft like. The bathroom being the only thing closed off. The sweaty man told him it wasn't much and said it would cost extra for wifi. Steve thought it sounded important so he agreed to the extra charge. Being the saviour of the Earth tends to pay well.   
He switched on the radio in the tiny bathroom and listened to the news as he started the shower. The old pipes rattled in the wall and temporarily drowned out the loud commercials. He stepped into the shower and let the announcers dramatically retell the amount of deaths and assaults in a day. The voices were so loud that he barely heard the knock at the door. Steve swore under his breath and rinsed the suds from his hair, "In a minute!" he called, turning the water off and quickly wrapping a towel around his waist. His wet feet slapped against the floor and he made his way over to the door, and he wiped the water from his face.   
He peeked through the door as he opened it, keeping a hand clamped on the small towel around his hips. The cold air meeting his damp skin made Steve shiver, and he immediately recognized a red-haired girl with green eyes blinking up at him. Her eyes wandered over Steve's bare chest, and a muted smile speed across her face.   
He considered leaving to change, but thought it might be rude, "Um. . ."  
"Sorry about the way I look, I have to be careful." Steve tensed and furrowed his brow when the girl spoke, because it was certainly not that of a 17 year old. It was male, with a familiar cleverness to it. "May I come in?" She/he asked, and Steve confirmed who it was.   
"Loki." he said almost defiantly, straightening his spine and widening his stance, "What do you want?"  
The girl only rolled his eyes and squeezed in between Steve and the door, "Though out of all of my friends here, you'd be the one with some good tea." Steve didn't know whether he'd looked away or blinked, but suddenly his intruder had black hair and a tall, slender body with long limbs and clever eyes. He leaned back on the counter casually in what Steve noted to be a forest green shirt and dark jeans. Loki smirked at him and inspected the apartment.   
"You don't have any friends," Steve retaliated, "not here."  
Loki's smile fell and Steve immediately regretted what he had said, "I suppose not."  
"Why are you here?" Steve repeated, body still rigid. Loki flicked his eyes over Steve's damp body, and the soldier suddenly felt very small.   
"Regrettably, you may need to put some clothes on first."   
Steve lost all of his assertive control in the situation, and felt himself flush. He felt something clench in his stomach when he saw Loki's absolutely feline grin. Steve retreated back to the bathroom, where he stuffed himself into a pair of ripped jeans and fumbled with a black T-shirt before returning, half expecting all of his stuff to be destroyed or stolen. He came back just as flustered as he had left, and Loki looked just as amused.   
"May I sit?" he asked.   
"Yeah, sure," Steve indicated the usually empty seat across from Steve's normal chair, and naturally, Loki took the chair opposite to what the soldier was pointing to. Steve's chair. Steve kicked himself for not seeing that one coming, and walked around the table to ease into the unfamiliar seat.   
"So," Steve began, mostly to break the awkward silence. He played with his fingernails and ignored Loki's playful stare.   
"My apologies, I did not mean to embarrass you."  
"Yes you did." Steve countered, and Loki's smile was all the confirmation he needed.   
"Why are you here?" Steve was tired of Loki's games and tricks. He knew from Thor's story's that the younger brother liked to dance around a subject rather than outright lie. The god enjoyed watching people almost fool themselves rather than having to trick them himself.   
Loki sat back in his chair with all the poise and grace of a prince, "it seems that Odin has lost all creativity when it comes to punishment." his voice was sharp, "The Allfather has sent me here as penance for my disobedience."   
"Like your brother, Thor, right?" Among the happy stories that Thorin told, he also told the ones of how he came to find his fair Jane.  
"He is not my brother." Loki bit, voice even more venomous than before.   
Something gripped in Steve's chest when he saw the agony flash in Loki's eyes. Even the God of deception had trouble hiding that much pain and anger. "That's not what Thor seems to think." Steve said carefully, standing and walking over to the fridge.   
"It matters not what he thinks. I am easily seen as equal to the favored child." Steve grabbed two beers and handed one to Loki, who looked surprised for a moment before removing the cap.   
"So you think you're above Thor?" Steve asked more than stated, and realized he sounded like the shrink Fury had him referred to.   
Loki didn't answer, but rather cast his eyes down towards the bottle in his hands, absently picking at the label. Steve continued to sip his beer and waited for the god to look back up at him. When the trickster didn't glance upwards, Steve noticed his mistake. Loki's eyes were drawn and and the corners of his mother twitched, almost nervously.   
"Oh," Steve cleared his throat, "So why don't you just, y'know, leave again?"  
Loki's eyes were sharp and accusatory once he did glare up at the soldier.   
"Do you not think that if I could just leave it would have? Odin has restrained my magic to the most basic of power, otherwise I would never have come."  
The comment stung a bit, but Steve tried to forgive the god. After all, being thrust into a world where you didn't belong did suck really hard. He watched Loki fidget, for the first time he looked bare and uncomfortable. It didn't take long for the prince to compose himself, slowly regaining his regal grace. It almost looked as if he were searching for a switch in the darkness of his head, finally flicking it and letting the light back into his green eyes. He sipped his beer quietly and did not speak.  
"So what's up with the costume on the bus?" Steve didn't feel uncomfortable when Loki smiled slyly.   
"I knew you had a fancy for redheads." Steve felt his face and ears heat up again, and Loki's smile grew wider. "After coming to earth I soon realized that many of the midgard people could easily recognize me."  
"Well, trying to enslave humanity tends to do that to people." Steve answered sarcastically, face still hot.   
"Cheeky." Loki smirked despite the comment. "But maintaining that form is rather taxing, and i can only do it for so long before it begins to wear on me."  
Steve hummed, looking at his half-empty beer. "How long have you been here for?" he noticed that Loki looked more relaxed, allowing himself to slump into the chair comfortably, bottle hanging out of his hand. It was odd seeing the prince looking so casual.   
"I landed in Arizona a few days ago." his voice was soft, but neither afraid nor sad. Just Loki.  
Steve blinked for a moment, surprised at the idea of the asgardian making it to New York. "And you got here. All by yourself."  
Loki chuckled, light and cheerful, "How you underestimate me, Captain." he smiled and drew himself up from where he was sitting. "You have been most hospitable, under the circumstances, and I must thank you." When Loki stood Steve finally remembered that this was the frost giant that had tried to enslave humanity, and he stood up with him nervously.   
"Yeah! Well, uh, going so soon? I mean, well. . ."  
"Thank you, Captain Rogers, I can see myself out." With that Loki dipped into a shallow bow, turned on his heels and left Steve alone in his apartment, baffled and and mumbling something about horses.


	2. Chapter 2

A week passed and there was little to no indication of Loki having been around. Crime rates seemed to be on the decline, and Steve received a cheque in the mail worth half a million dollars from the SHIELD initiative. Attached, Fury had scrawled a small thank you letter. All Steve read was "early Christmas bonus" near the bottom and smiled despite himself. He knew he didn't deserve this money. The people who did died on duty or in a science lab not long after Steve had discovered what it was like to be tall.   
The bars were all the same. He'd go, down enough alcohol to put a man on the floor, ignore the shallow girls that came to giggle and gawk at him, and then take the subway home. He noted with much disappointment that the girl with green eyes was never there to watch him. He'd get home at close to two in the morning with groceries from the 7/11 across the street and slump into bed, not quite knowing why he bought a box of tea each time.   
One day it was different. It was raining and Steve had left the bar early in order to try and miss the worst of the storm, but by the looks of it the downpour couldn't get much worse. He got yelled at in the subway for being a "homo terrorist freak working for Al Queida." by a man who looked to have a few screws loose. Steve quickly shrunk back to his pre-serum posture, somehow forgetting that he was a six-foot something supersoldier. He quickly apologized and got off two stops early. It would be at least another half hour before the next train and Steve didn't feel like waiting. He swallowed his pride and jogged up the stairs. The rain was pouring down in buckets, and Steve found himself in a very dark and seedy part of the city.   
Hazy street lamps flickered and dogs barked warnings at each other from across town. A greasy looking girl passed him and asked for a light, which he only shook his head at. Two more shady women smirked at Steve when they passed him, and he glanced away shyly. He walked for a few more minutes before something caught his attention.  
"Hey, asshole! If you're anything special, why don't you take my wallet again!" A chorus of gruff laughs echoed from a nearby alleyway, followed by muffled grappling and grunts.   
Steve peered around the corner carefully and found five lumpy looking men bent over someone who resembled a cornered rabbit lying crumpled against the wall. He felt his heart flutter when he saw that the figure wasn't moving.   
"Fellas!" he called, trying to sound as friendly as possible. All 5 assailants turned to face the captain, three of which looked incredibly intoxicated. "It's pretty late, why don't we all just head home. Bygones and all that." He ran his fingers through his hair and systematically checked for weapons. All of them looked clean, though they all seemed to be practiced in some sort of combat or another. The victim looked to be trying to right himself with a small groan.  
"Oh, yeah? You some cop then?" A bald, well-built man challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.   
Steve mimicked the motion and drew in a breath, "No, I'm military." he smiled when he saw a flash of recognition in their faces. He sometimes enjoyed pulling out the 'listen to me, I'm Captain America' card occasionally, but always felt somewhat bad for abusing it. Today, however, he relished the look of fear and incredulity on their greasy mugs.   
"Well, I found this piece of shit trying to steal my wallet. Take him away before I kill him." he punctuated the curse with a swift kick to the ribs. It took everything Steve had to keep from gasping. "recognized him as that guy from the news." The dark figure turned onto his back, revealing black hair and bright green eyes.   
Loki.  
It was Loki, the prince of Asgard, getting the piss kicked out of him for stealing a wallet. Steve panicked for a long moment and scratched his head. The five men were waiting for a reply quietly, all that could be heard were the shallow gasps of Loki breathing. He knelt by the god and hesitated before pulling him to his feet.   
"Thank you, gentlemen, that'll be all for one night." he kept both hands on Loki's shoulders to keep him from swaying, the trickster still looked slightly dazed, and took no notice of the captain."He'll be coming with me, I'm sorry about your wallet, sir."   
The man nodded and let Steve swing one of Loki's arms over his broad shoulders, gripping the gods narrow waist with his other hand. He was on his way down the steps when the slender fingers suddenly tightened their grip.   
"Captain." Loki muttered, voice weak and strained.   
"You owe me." Steve bit out as they boarded the subway headed towards home. Loki didn't answer when they found a seat and the remainder of the trip was held in silence.   
Once he got home, Steve sat Loki down in the bathroom and filled a bowl with warm water. He also grabbed a first aid kit and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. His patient had a split lip and cheek, with what looked to be an already forming black eye. Steve motioned to take his shirt off and Loki obeyed, sliding the garment from his shoulders and letting it rest on the floor.   
"So," Steve began, wringing a rag of its excess water, "I think you owe me an explanation."  
Loki made an amused noise, but it was soon extinguished when Steve lightly ran the cloth over a wound on his cheek. "I got caught, sometimes I get sloppy."  
"Yeah but stealing a wallet? Why didn't you just use that disguise of yours?" he gave the peroxide time to bubble on Loki's face before rinsing and putting polysporin on it.   
"My power seems to have dissipated since we last met. I fear that now I am a mere mortal." There was a sober, yet hopeful tone in Loki's voice, as if becoming mortal would mean that he'd suddenly know how to live. He'd suddenly have somewhere to belong. The way Loki spoke made Steve want to gather him up in his arms and tell him that he was important, that he mattered, and he had a place in this world.   
"Being human isn't that bad." Was all that Steve said, as he ran his hands over the curve of Loki's ribcage to check for breaks or cracks. His skin was cool and soft, and Steve had to keep reminding himself to focus on the task at hand.   
"This coming from the supersoldier." His voice came as a gasp, and Steve found that a lower rib on Loki's left side was cracked. The god had tried to hide his pain with a nervous chuckle, but the captain could hear the shudder in his voice, and wasn't fooled. He made a face and drew away from where Loki was seated. There wasn't much Steve could do for cracked ribs, and he noted the shivering, damp body before him.  
"You want to shower? I'll give you a change of clothes, if you want." He fidgeted, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with asking the question.  
Loki stood, slowly, Steve knew it was because of the pain but the trickster tried to masquerade as mischievous and deliberate. He drew near to the soldier, very much invading the captain's space. Steve shivered but didn't back away. Loki smelled of mint and fresh pine, with a hint of something else. He could feel the air crackle around him as if it were electric, something like soundwaves filling the room. He looked away and tried to ignore the way Loki's eyes flicked over his body.   
"That would be most generous." he said slowly, and Steve's face began to heat up again.   
"I'll, um, go get you some clothes." Steve whirled around and nearly fell as he stumbled through the doorway. The door clicked shut behind him and he continued his desperate escape to his dresser. Once there, he sifted through cluttered drawers and found a dark green T-shirt and plaid pajama pants. He fumbled to close the dresser and stopped when he heard the shower running.   
He waited a few moments before rushing back and knocking on the door to deliver the clean clothes to his guest.   
"Come in." he heard Loki call gently and he cautiously entered the bathroom. Loki was already in the shower with the curtain closed, but Steve refused to even look in the direction of the shower, somewhat afraid that he'd be chastised or discovered.   
"I'm, uh, yeah. Your clothes are here." Steve internally screamed at how inarticulate he was being, and quickly turned to leave.   
"Thank you, Captain." he halted in his tracks once Loki said this, the words sounding unnatural on the proud tricksters tongue.   
"Any time." Steve replied more out of habit, and could practically feel the smirk across thin, wet lips once he did shut the door behind him. He checked the time: three in the morning. Weariness pulled at his eyes and he left to sit on his bed. He'd have to wait for the god to get out of the shower, dry off and then he'd offer the couch or something for Loki to sleep on. He sighed and rubbed his face, it was still burning from Loki's intrusion. He knew it was all just mindgames to get Steve riled up, Loki was like that. He was used to using people and manipulating them for his own gain. He didn't really like Steve, the scrawny awkward kid from Brooklyn.   
Well, Steve may not have been scrawny anymore, but Loki was intelligent enough to see through that. Loki knew what Steve was, and Steve knew that Loki knew and it made him feel uncomfortable, almost bare and naked every time the god looked at him.   
Steve didn't realize that he had fallen asleep, but the last thing he remembered of the night was the sound of the shower shutting off and the pipes rattling one last time.   
Steve woke to the warm familiarity of his bed. He kept his eyes closed and stretched, still a little disoriented from sleep. He ran his hand through soft, long hair and noted it was red under half-lidded eyes. The name was on the tip of his tongue, somewhat believing in all of those dreams and late-night fantasies for a brief moment. He caught himself before he could say it, because he knew it wasn't 1945. It was 2012, and it wasn't her.   
He recognized the freckled face and red hair, but the usually green eyes were shut, eyelashes splayed gently across her cheeks. Upon the realization that he was cuddled close to Loki, the god of mischief, he stifled a yell and shoved himself away, dropping off the bed and dragging most of the comforter with him.   
Loki stretched, making a disappointed noise and let his disguise fall. The trickster seemed to glow in the morning sun, and reflect the light across Steve's bedsheets.   
"Don't do that." Steve said, a little shaken up. He sat up on his elbows and attempted to untangle himself from the mess of blankets, and discreetly watched Loki sun himself like a lazy house cat.   
"My apologies, captain, I needed to test something." he then sat up on the other side of Steve's bed and stretched again.   
"Well, could you do it when I'm not asleep?" Steve rubbed his eyes and stood. He walked around his bed and into the kitchen, quickly followed by an unusually casual Loki. He leaned over the counter beside the coffeemaker and turned to the god. "I thought you didn't have any magic anymore." he fiddled with the pot until it came free, and filled it with water.   
"It seems to be returning to me. I've already the power to heal my wounds and to disguise myself for a time." he then slunk to the cupboards and explored them as Steve switched the coffee maker on.  
"I got some tea the other day." he turned and saw Loki inspecting the multiple boxes, and rubbed his neck nervously. "I didn't know which kind you liked, so I bought a bunch of different kinds."   
Loki smiled, though it was something closer to happiness rather than coy manipulation. He pulled out a box and looked it over. " How you spoil me, Captain." the smile crept up into Loki's eyes and Steve found himself returning the gesture, only to have Loki's expression shrink back and hide behind his devilish smirk.  
"You know," Steve began, retrieving the kettle and filling it with water as well, "you don't have to call me that, you can just call me Steve." he flicked the switch on the kettle, and returned his gaze to the confidant and collected guest.   
"Well, that's what you are, isn't it? Captain America. The star spangled man with a plan." Loki's words were purposely sarcastic, but didn't cut deep. Steve knew the god was merely setting up a defense mechanism in order to protect himself. His fingers danced over the corners of the box with all the learned grace of a prince. His lips quirked into a careful smile, eyes cast down to watch Steve's hands knead together.   
The elegance at which Loki held himself forced Steve to notice how out of place the borrowed clothes looked on him. Loki may have been a few inches taller than him, but contained considerably less bulk than Steve. The crumpled clothes looked far too baggy and large for the sophisticated, lean man they engulfed. The coffee pot made a noise to indicate it was finished, and Steve realized that he was staring at Loki's green eyes.   
"That's just me in costume." Steve snapped out of it and grabbed a mug from the shelf, "Sorry to disappoint." He rubbed his eyes, ashamed at how obnoxious he was being.   
"You consider yourself off duty even when dealing with something like me?"   
"Something like you?" Steve repeated, setting the pot back into the machine. He was proud of himself, and the fact that he had figured out the coffee maker, without instructions, thank you very much.  
When Steve repeated Loki's question, everything about the trickster sharpened, shoulders angled and spine rigid. His face was still contorted into a shallow grin, though his body language betrayed him. Steve tensed as well and let one hand grip the counter, almost as an anchor.   
"Are you unaware of what I truly am, captain?" the voice itself seemed to hold enough power and edge to it to darken the room. Steve didn't panic, though, the last thing he'd do was submit himself to Loki's schemes and manipulations.   
"I get it. I'd be pretty mad too, if my dad told me I wasn't really his kid, especially after growing up behind a great guy like Thor. I'd get a little ticked if I learned that I was actually taken from my archenemy during infancy, and was raised to prove a point."  
Loki scoffed, anger now rearing up into that sinister smile. "Your words fall upon deafened ears. Who were your parents? They must have been so proud of Steve Rogers, Captain America, their first and only son with superhuman ability. They must have loved and cherished their child, having the strength and courage to do what was right."  
"Loki-"  
"Don't you understand, Steve? It is so easy for someone who has grown up in the sun to tell others to stop living in the darkness. My own mother and father were to thick to understand that the only shadow cast over me belonged to Thor. Wherever I looked, my brother would tower before and above me, blotting out any chance I had to be seen as equal. Your parents probably-"  
"They died." Steve quickly cut in, leaving only tension and the sound of Loki's breathing to hang in the air. "When I was young, both my parents died. Mustard gas in the war. I grew up in an orphanage, with Bucky." Steve had to pause a moment, the loss of his friend still weighed heavily on him. "He was always taller, stronger and faster than me. He got all the girls and was always looked up to. I never heard anyone say it, but I knew everybody always wondered why I would tag along with a winner like him." Something close to guilt crept across Loki's face, but Steve was too long gone to stop, "And it hurt," he continued, voice catching in his throat "not because everyone thought he shouldn't have me hang around, but because he let me. Every day I'd try to ignore the pity in his eyes, and every day he'd have me around. I never understood what it was like to be stronger than someone until the serum, and I don't know if I like the responsibility."  
Loki blinked once the speech was done, and Steve rubbed his face with his hands, neither seemed sure how to respond. Steve shook himself, sighed and regained his composure.  
"Some of us were sidekicks." the captain added to lighten the mood slightly. The teakettle clicked, signifying the water had finished boiling. Steve handed Loki an empty cup, and Loki smiled at him.  
"Thank you, Steve." Loki said as he poured the water, and the captain turned his back to sit at the table.  
"You're wel-" Steve turned to answer the god, but was stopped short upon the realization that he was alone in his apartment. He suddenly felt very small and lonely by himself, and absently sipped from his coffee.  
"You're welcome."


	3. Chapter 3

Steve decided that he liked central park. It was peaceful, but still busy, with a healthy amount of trees and enough fresh air to remind the supersoldier of home. He would often take his sketchbook and sit alone to draw, mostly halfhearted doodles of trees and strangers passing by. Not many people would disturb him or make him uncomfortable, and he guessed that was the best part.  
The day after Loki had abruptly left without saying goodbye, Steve decided that he'd leave early and sit in the park for a while. The gym was close so he would have plenty of time to go and train.   
The grass was still damp from the dew, and Steve elected to sit on a bench overlooking a packed playground. He challenged himself and began to sketch the different expressions that spread across the children's faces. His gestures were rough and vague, going more for the expression of movement than precise shapes. He was interrupted more than once by excited children asking about his drawings, all excited to see whether they were his subject or not. Steve was particularly shy about others seeing his sketches, but one girl was able to coax him into handing his book over.   
Her blue eyes lit up over the page as she scanned it, immediately recognizing herself in a few doodles. Before Steve could stop her she began browsing through the rest of the sketches, flipping the pages slowly and grinning.  
"Do you have drawing superpowers too?" the girl asked seriously, still taken by the rough drawings.   
Steve had to chuckle at the question, a little flattered all the same, "I don't think so. . ." he blushed and stuck his hands into his pockets.   
"You do." the girl decided with a curt nod, and the soldier didn't object. Steve noticed a woman with auburn hair wander over to where the two were seated, and he could tell from her looks that she was the girls mother. She smiled at Steve, who nodded politely at her.   
"This is the hero from the news." She pointed at another portrait, all sharp corners and swift strokes, the hair was dark and the eyes downcast, a toothy, feral grin spread across the image's face. Something like panic bubbled up in Steve's chest and he reached for his sketchbook.  
"I wouldn't call him a hero, Megs," the mother offered gently, kneeling in front of her daughter and grabbing her hand. "He's the bad guy."  
Something in the statement didn't sit quite right with Steve, but the little girl was quick to jump to defense.   
"I don't think he's bad." She almost pouted, "I think he just wants a friend. Boys always do mean stuff when they wanna be friends."  
"Well, I'll get right on that, skip." Steve smiled and glanced at the mother, who nodded a thank you.  
"Alright, Meg, what do you say to Mr. Rogers?"  
"Thank you Mister! Your coloring book is really good!" She almost yelled, shoving the sketches back into Steve's hands. Her mother also kindly thanked him before collecting her daughter and leaving.  
"Anytime." Steve smiled to himself as he watched the girl and her mother leave. He ran his fingers through his hair and frowned when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He waved to the child one more time before fumbling to get his phone.   
"Hello?" he answered sheepishly.  
"Hey, gramps, you actually answered your phone! Maybe you don't need the extra large letters after all." Tony's playful tone made Steve sigh, but he refused to get mad. Retaliation would only give him what he wanted. Besides, Tony was partially correct about not answering his mobile. The soldier had frequently forgotten the device at home when going out or had forgotten to charge it.  
"What is it, Stark." he said stiffly, changing ears and gathering his things. He set off down the path towards the street, trying to go as slow as possible.  
"You might want to swing by my place, handsome. Family meeting." Steve immediately sagged as he came up to the street. He inadvertently groaned when he hailed a cab.   
"Don't sound so happy there, sport." Steve ignored the dig and motioned to get in the taxi. Tony continued without a response "It's something about Thor's little brother."  
Steve nearly ripped the door off of the car when he opened it. The cab driver yelled incoherent things at him and he grimaced in an apology. By then Tony had been able to make a witty reference that Steve didn't understand, and then hang up without a response. Steve stuffed the phone back into his pocket and instructed the cabbie towards Stark Towers.   
The supersoldier could feel himself begin to fidget and lose color about five minutes into the drive. He knew he couldn't tell them that he had been talking to Loki. Heaven forbid anyone found out about Steve being in the same bed as him. He'd never hear the end of it.  
The tower stood just as tall and mighty as it had before the huge alien invasion, and looked much too elaborate as a house for one man. Obviously many shield agents including Natasha and Clint had moved in once everything had settled down, but nobody was supposed to know it was a shield headquarters. Tony had all but forced Bruce to move in, and had dedicated an entire floor to be their own personal lab. Half the things they talk about confounded the soldier, so he politely refused when being asked to live with everyone else.   
He let himself into what he thought to be the lobby and wrung his hands nervously when he realized there was nobody around. The vacant front desk was the same type of marble as the floor, which made an awful lot of noise when he walked. Steve awkwardly wandered towards the elevator and pushed a button.  
"Hello, Mr. Rogers." the accented voice of Tony's computer made him start, still not quite used to the technology.  
"Uh, hey jarvis, how's it going?" Steve scratched his head when the doors to the elevator opened. He tentatively stepped inside, still a little wary.  
"Very good, sir. Mr. Stark has instructed me to bring you to floor 15."  
"Alright, then lets go." The doors immediately closed and the elevator made a small humming noise, the numbers slowly counting up from the ground floor. Steve shifted uncomfortably, hoping the computer at least couldn't pick up on that.   
"Here we are, sir." Jarvis chimed as the doors opened, revealing a spacious, immaculate boardroom. The long table in the centre was lined with seats, four of which were already taken.   
"G.I. Snow!" Tony called, standing up to greet him.   
Steve grinned despite the comment, and let himself be led to a comfortable chair across from Natasha, who smiled at him. Clint nodded a solemn greeting as tony perched on Steve's left. They all then focused their attention towards the end of the table, where Phil Coulson sat. He coughed awkwardly before looking at Steve.   
"How are you, Captain?" The agent asked, almost squirming in his chair.   
"Not bad, yourself?" Steve smiled, the nervousness had bled away once he realized Fury wasn't there. That was one less person breathing down his neck about where he was for the past couple days. Coulson was manageable.   
"Okay," Phil sighed, breaking the awkward silence. He reached into his bag an pulled out a stack of file folders, standing to pass them out. The red classified stamp across the front yelled at Steve to spill everything, every detail he had about Loki. The way his mouth curled into a sly grin, or how his eyes softened into something fonder, the clever hands and well groomed fingernails and sleek black hair. And the way he smelled of fresh pine and mint, with an equally cool touch.   
Okay, maybe not everything, but there was a lot about Loki Steve wished he could tell everyone he met. He wanted to shout from a mountain that he knew Loki Odinson, and nobody else could say that they knew why he took over New York.  
"Loki?" Natasha's eyes furrowed as she pulled a photo from her folder. It was blurry, but the sharp eyes and smart mouth was all steve needed to recognize his on and off roommate.   
"How observant, Wonder Woman." Tony's giggles were silenced by a single glare, and Steve had to stifle his own laughter.   
"Yes, you all probably remember him, right?" Coulson continued, "Well, some people have been talking. Specifically about him wandering around the city again."   
"We got any proof?" Clint asked quickly.  
"So far just chatter, but its made a few news stations."  
Everyone groaned simultaneously.  
"You took me away from my naptime for this?" Tony whined, "I had to pretend to be not hungover and everything!"  
"I'm just telling you to keep an eye out. You're asking about him or entertaining victims. Just look both ways before you cross the street." Coulson looked just as irritated as everyone else, and then looked at Steve.   
Everyone nodded in agreement while Steve shifted uncomfortably under the Agent's gaze. Someone knew, they saw the way his lips pressed together and his furrowed brow. They saw his nervous quirks and knew something was wrong and Steve needed to calm down because breaking the rules was never so easy yet so hard at the same time. He needed to leave before he exploded and told them about how a norse God followed him home and has been acting like a stray cat ever since.   
"You okay Steve?" Natasha's voice made him jump.   
"Uh, yeah." He fidgeted, and bumped his knees on the table trying to stand. "I just, um. I need air.". He looked at Coulson like a kid in detention and he nodded, worry present all over his face.   
Nobody called to him as he sped back towards the elevator, nor did they follow him once he made his way to the lobby. His phone didn't ring once in the taxi, and he was never asked for an autograph on the subway.   
He made it to the 7/11 down the road from his apartment. By now it was late afternoon and the sun rose high in the sky. A dark-haired woman was struggling to fit through the door with all her grocery bags, all of them strained under the weight of their contents. Steve jumped up as if on cue, and held the door open for her.   
"There you go, ma'm, mind if i help you with your bags there?"   
Her green eyes flicked over him for a moment, and her expression softened. "Thank you, sir."  
Steve grinned and took the bags from her, and she led him across the street. The trunk to an old, beaten up car opened and he stuffed all of the groceries in as neatly as possible. The woman laid a hand on his elbow for a moment and offered a box of tea to him.  
"Oh, I couldn't." Steve held up his hands, but the woman placed the box into one of them. She then smiled, the expression looking odd on her sharp features.  
"Thank you, Captain."   
Once he was back in his apartment, he flicked the TV onto the news channel, where a woman in a very bright pink blazer explained the weather forecast. Again, Steve pulled out his sketchbook and began to draw with nothing but the dull voices from the television to keep him company.   
Several drawings later, a sudden and very important knock on his door made him start. He quickly sprung across the room and flung the door open, still on edge from the day's previous events.   
"Hide me."  
It was Loki, of course, but Steve thought he looked almost like another creature. Clothes, torn and dirty, mussed hair and a wild, panicked look in his eye.   
"What?" he gaped.   
"Hide me" Loki hissed again, pushing himself into the apartment and slithering under Steve's blankets.  
"What the hell?" Steve closed his door and padded towards his bed, he took hold of the covers and tried to rip them off of Loki.  
"No!" Loki cried, holding fast on the blankets and getting dragged halfway down the bed. "Don't let them get me!" He groped at the sheets, succeeding in grasping a pillow and clutching it close.  
Steve was about to form some sort of angry retaliation, but another knock at the door interrupted his game of tug-of-war. Loki seized the opportunity and snatched the bedding from the soldier while he was distracted. They both looked at each other for a moment before Steve went to the door.  
It opened to the same five men Steve had the displeasure of meeting in an alleyway not two days ago. One clutched a baseball bat and the other sported a wicked grin.  
"We're looking for Loki, Cap, care to join the hunt?" Their leader asked, smirking.  
Steve instinctively used his door to shield himself from the potential assailants. When he didn't answer, the man elaborated.   
"Spotted the little fucker on the subway and chased him all the way here. We've been knocking on doors ever since."  
"You-how do you know where I live?" Steve felt his heartbeat rise and his hand gripped the doorhandle a little tighter.   
"Coming back to bed, Tiger?" a quiet, but very feminine voice sounded behind him and he jumped. A woman with jet black hair wearing nothing but his bedsheets winked at him from across the room. Steve's face immediately began to heat up and he blinked at the sight before him. Considering Loki's mental state earlier, the god was incredibly talented at hiding emotion.   
"I, um. . . Uh."   
"I won't be cruel and keep you from that." The man at the door nearly giggled, and Steve suddenly remembered why he wasn't in bed in the first place.  
"Oh. Okay. . . Thanks?" Steve could feel his heart beat even faster, and he was positive that he was red as a tomato by now. As soon as he shut the door Loki's disguise vanished, and the god let out a small sigh before falling to the floor.   
Steve was immediately at his side checking for vitals. "Hey-" was all he could say, grabbing a cold hand, "hey."  
"I am fine, Captain," Loki said, although the exhaustion wasn't absent from his tone. "though I'd much prefer the comfort of your bed."  
Steve took another moment to process, somewhat embarrassed that it took him this long to offer the tired guest his bed. "Sure, um, one-" His arms wrapped around Loki gently and lifted, trying to ignore the frigidity of Loki's bare skin on his.   
He slowly made his way to the bed and gently lowered the wiry frame onto his bed, pulling the covers over quietly. He was about to leave and give Loki some peace and quiet when a cold hand wrapped around his wrist.   
"That is not what I meant."   
Whether it was the cool hand or the sharp eyes that sent chills down his spine, he wasn't sure. The action caused him to freeze in place anyway. He'd never seen Loki so helpless before, his eyes were dark and sunken in, hair a wild mess, even his usual regal grace was muted by weak, clumsy limbs. Steve glanced back to the door but for a moment, and quickly crawled under the covers.   
"Knew you couldn't resist, Tiger." Loki chuckled. Steve blushed, although relieved that he had at least enough energy for one more jeer.   
Loki wiggled a little closer to Steve and he felt it again. The air around him hummed and throbbed with electricity, and a certain pull towards Loki like two magnets. Being this close made his heart feel like it was sunbathing on a warm day, or sitting in the park with his sketchbook.  
"Do you feel that, Captain?" Loki whispered, letting a frigid hand come to rest on Steve's stomach. Even through his shirt, Loki's hand felt like it could burn it was so cold, as if someone had poured liquid nitrogen across his abdominals, burning a hole up into his chest and lungs. Steve gasped at the sensation, but allowed it, feeling that whatever Loki was doing, it was important.   
For a long moment Steve's heartbeat started accelerating, until he could feel it hammering out of his chest so hard, he could have sworn the bed were shaking. He was about to cry out or explode or something, but by then Loki had pulled back, and the feeling gone as quickly as it had come. The god sighed contentedly, closing his eyes and squirming even closer to Steve. The soldier wrapped his arm around the lithe body before him and allowed Loki to nuzzle gently against his chest.   
"Hey," Steve whispered, "you okay?"  
Loki didn't move at first, thinking for a long moment. Steve could feel the rise and fall of his ribcage slow down, and heard another content noise from his guest.   
"I am now." he finally answered, face still burrowed into Steve's chest, "thank you, Steven."


End file.
